Give Me Back My Five Bucks

I almost never write “how to” posts, but after posting about my investment portfolio last week, I’ve had a lot of people e-mail me to ask about the procedure for signing up for the TD e-series mutual funds. I started investing in TD Canada Trust e-series mutual funds over six years ago, and have been a satisfied customer for most of that time. The e-series index funds are a popular choice because they are a simple way to invest, and have among the lowest Management Expense Ratios (MERs) for mutual funds in Canada. However, the downside is that there is … Continue reading →

Now that I’ve had a few days to go over the recommendations put forth by the financial advisor, I can share with you what he has told me about my investment portfolio. Please read my previous post, “Financial advisors: do you have one?” or my two posts on Moneyville about my experience with my financial advisor: “Why I decided I needed a financial advisor” and “How I heading for Freedom 55.” First, here’s a background of what I’m invested in: Holdings in TD Mutual Funds (mostly e-series): CDN Money Market, Canadian Index-e, U.S. Index-e, European Index-e, Japanese Index-e, CDN Bond … Continue reading →

Most of you know that I really want to figure out what I should do about my (lack of an) investment strategy. It’s been really bothering me over the last 6 months. In fact, a goal of mine for November was to read 10 articles about investing. Well, I figured I’d be reading about mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, and some sort of basic strategy. But instead, I found myself researching investment advisors. I personally think an investment advisor is the best way for me to go. I decided to look into a “fee-only” advisor, because I’m confident that – once … Continue reading →

I am so irritated with TD Canada Trust. In fact, I’ve had this problem with them since 2007, but I haven’t done much with my account until the past year or so, when I’ve wanted to switch up my mutual funds and buy a bit more aggressively for the long term. Basically what is happening is, every single time I want to purchase higher risk mutual funds, I get the following decline e-mail: Order # XXXXXX-XXXX-XXXXX Dear Investor, [...] We have not fulfilled your request because it may not be suited to your current investor profile. We have based this … Continue reading →

I started saving for retirement again. Luckily I only lost 6 weeks, but even then … with all the savings goals I have this year, I don’t think I can make that time up. But anyway, starting this Friday I’ll be putting away $300 bi-weekly. RRSPs $50 Money Market $50 CDN Bond Index $50 European Index $50 International Index $25 CDN Index $25 US Index TFSA $25 ING Direct (3%) $25 PC Financial (2%) According to the pay stub I received yesterday, I’ll be bringing in approximately $1,380 bi-weekly after taxes. So my Retirement Porfolio savings represents almost 22% of … Continue reading →